Central Michigan University
Ball State
CMU Bats Unload on Ball State
5/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Central Michigan's Alex Borglin led off the game with his first career home run.
It was a sign of things to come.
CMU collected a season-high 25 hits -- seven of them for extra bases -- in pounding Ball State, 18-7, Friday in the opening game of a three-game Mid-American Conference series at the Cardinals' Ball Diamond.
"You set a tone for what you want to accomplish," CMU coach Steve Jaksa said. "As I told the guys, I was proud of how they played the whole game. We talk about it, but they did it. We kept our foot on the gas pedal. We've just got to keep after them, keep putting pressure on them, and keep putting good at-bats together.
"Does it feel good? Sure, absolutely. It tells our guys that we can be pretty good. It's important that we be ready to play tomorrow. It'll be 0-0 tomorrow."
The win lifted the Chippewas to 31-18 overall, 16-6 MAC, and moved them within one victory of claiming a share of the MAC West title. The Chippewas hold a four-game lead over second-place Toledo in the division. Both have five conference games remaining. In the overall conference standings, the Chippewas lead second-place Kent State by two games.
The Chippewas, who last won a divisional title in 2011, and Cardinals play game two of the series Saturday at 1 p.m. and the finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Joe Houlihan also homered for CMU and finished with a career-high four hits, and Logan Regnier broke out of a 3-for-25 slump with four hits to lead the Chippewas at the plate.
The 18 runs tied CMU's season-high, and it marked the third time in their last six games that the Chippewas have scored at least 14 runs.
The Chippewas scored times in the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie, than added five runs in the eighth and six in the ninth to turn it into a rout.
Sean Martens (6-1) allowed two hits in 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win. CMU starter Sean Renzi allowed four runs on five hits, walked five and struck out three over 5 1/3 innings.
Renzi walked the bases loaded with one out in the sixth when he gave way to Martens, a freshman right-hander. Ball State's Scott Tyler cleared the bases with a double to tie the game 4-4. Martens then got a groundball and flyout to end the inning.
"(Martens) really pitched well, and I thought Renz pitched really well," CMU coach Steve Jaksa said. "He got out of whack a little bit in that inning, but all in all, he hung tough. He'll make the adjustment, he'll learn from that and he'll get better. I expect him to be that much better the next time he throws."
Jimmy McNamara, Blake Hibbitts and Josh Pierce each took a turn on the mound for CMU in the ninth. CMU did not commit an error in the game.
Zach McKinstry broke the 4-4 tie with a two-out RBI single in the seventh. Houlihan followed with a run-scoring single and Ryan Heeke doubled in a run to put the Chippewas up 7-4.
The Chippewas sent 11 men to the plate in the eighth, scoring five runs on four hits and two Ball State errors. The big blow was a two-run triple by Nick Regnier.
Houlihan hit his team-leading fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot, to highlight a six-run CMU ninth during which the Chippewas sent 10 to plate.
Borglin, Pat MacKenzie and McKinstry finished with three hits apiece. Borglin and Houlihan had three RBI each. Nick Regnier tripled, while Morgan Oliver, MacKenzie and Tyler Huntey each doubled.
B.J. Butler, who relieved starter Zach Plesac in the seventh, took the loss. Ball State committed four errors in the game and the Chippewas left 13 runners on base.
